Ghost
by Alice W. Hale
Summary: Alice and Jasper visit an art gallery and get a glimpse of Alice's unknown past. More to come due to popular demand. Pre-Twilight
1. Chapter 1

"Ghost"

By: Alice W. Hale

Disclaimer: I do not have any connection to Stephenie Meyer or claim ownership to the Twilight series or the characters of Alice and Jasper.

"Come on, Jasper! I'm ready to go!" Alice called up the stairs. She'd been looking forward to today for a week and Jasper was being annoyingly slow. They were going to the new art gallery in Seattle and Alice was hoping to be there when the doors opened.

Before she could call him again, Jasper was at her side, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, ma'am," he whispered in her ear, his Southern accent coming out more than usual.

"You'd better be," she grinned mischievously at him. "Let's go!" She was tossing the car keys in her right hand.

Jasper grabbed them before they landed in her tiny palm again a challenged, "Race you!"

A split second later, they were by the car; Alice was the driver's side door with Jasper leaning over her. "I win," she breathed, grinning again. A soft growl came from Jasper's throat and he kissed her cheek before giving her the keys.

As they drove, Alice happily chattered about the galleries that she was particularly looking forward to seeing. Jasper listened closely but said little. It was a comfortable situation to them: Alice had chattered to him and he's listened to her for decades.

When they arrived, Alice was happy to see that they were the first ones there, though another car entered the lot a moment later. It made Jasper smile to see his wife so happy, even because of something as ordinary as going to an art museum.

They left a hefty donation in the box at the door and went into the gallery to their left. It was full of 19th century paintings. Alice looked intently at each one, reading the information plaques, before moving to the next. Jasper was close to her side, commenting occasionally.

They toured another gallery that housed a few classical sculpture replicas before entering a gallery dedicated to various wars. Alice looked at each of them like she had the others, but Jasper lingered a bit longer.

"Is this what it was like where you were?" Alice asked him softly, referring to a painting of a lesser-known skirmish from the Civil War.

"Yes, from what I can recall. My troop was larger than this, however." He peered at the scene another moment and chuckled softly. "I met this artist once, I believe." The nameplate read 'Martin Houston.' "He toured the South, sketching battles as he went." Alice smiled and left him to his faint memories a moment longer.

As they continued to walk through the rooms, more people were filling the galleries. A child was crying two or three galleries over. His mother had scolded him for touching a painting.

"Come on, babe," Alice too his hand and guided him into the next room. "I want to see this last gallery then we can go. The ads said that it's the best 20th century collection in the state!" It was the one she'd most wanted to see and Jasper was happy to let her enjoy it.

There were lots of paintings, prints, and even some abstract artworks. In the corner of the room, there was a small painting, no more than a foot high, which caught Alice's attention.

"Jasper," she whispered almost inaudibly, tugging on his sleeve. Her eyes were locked on the painting; her mouth gaped open slightly.

It was of a girl who looked barely older than a child she was so small. Her skin was pale and sallow, as if she hadn't seen the sun in years. Her inky hair was cropped short and was unruly, her hands were buried in it making it wild. Her face looked terrified yet her eyes were completely emotionless, blank. The title read _Unknown Girl in Asylum_. The plaque said that it was painted in Bryson Asylum which is claimed was located in Mississippi.

"It's… she's… _me_," Alice finally said, shocked.

Jasper placed his hand on the small of her back and rubbed gently. "Ali, you don't know that. It could be anyone. Scenes like this were common in the teens and '20s."

She shook her head, "Look at her eyes. Don't tell me you've never seen that expression before!"

He couldn't deny it. It was the precise look that Alice got when she had a vision.

"What did they _do_ to me? Look at my face… absolute horror…" She was shaking ever so slightly.

"Alice, darling, let's go home now," Jasper begged. He hated seeing her like this; he hated her imagining who she'd once been in such a negative way.

He took the car keys from her bag and led her away from the horrific painting.

On the drive home, they were silent. Jasper was constantly measuring her emotions, ready to calm her at a moment's notice.

"I want to know," she suddenly said. "I want to know about my life. I _need_ to know, Jasper."

He didn't respond for a long moment. "What if you don't like what you find?" he finally asked.

She shook her head again, this time as if to clear it. "I _need_ to know what kind of people they were, what kind of person _I_ was. I must have been awful for them to do that to me!"

"Alice!" Jasper rebuked her as he pulled the car onto the shoulder of the road. "You do not know that." He pulled her small body into his lap and wrapped his arms around her. "You didn't do anything, Alice. It was them; they didn't take care of you." Tearless sobs were now shaking her tiny form. "Shh…" he soothed her. "They're not your family; we are. I am. I'll take care of you, Ali. You know how much I love you."

Her sobs slowed and she looked up at him, eyes wide and timid.

"I promise," he reassured her. "I love you." She just nodded and buried her head in his chest once more, hugging him tightly.

They sat in silence for some time longer, just holding each other.

"I'll help you," Jasper said finally. "I'll help you uncover your past."

She looked up at him. "Really?" she breathed.

"Of course." He kissed the top of her head and she snuggled back into his arms, instantly happier.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ghost" Chapter 2

By: Alice W. Hale

Disclaimer: I own nothing except the character of Ella. All of the others belong to Stephenie Meyer.

Alice lay on their bed perfectly still with her eyes closed; her breathing was even and the sheets were tucked tightly around her. If Jasper hadn't known better, he would have thought that she was sleeping.

"Ali," he whispered, "What are you thinking about?" He lay down beside her under the covers and slid one arm behind her back.

"I'm trying to remember." She curled into him but didn't open her eyes. "It's all blank though. Before, I mean. It's not fuzzy or gray, even. It's black; like I had no life before this one. I don't even remember the pain. Not the burning, not the screaming, nothing." She sighed.

Jasper chuckled softly, "Be glad you don't remember that part. I promise, I'd forget it if I could."

Alice finally opened her eyes and looked at him. "I love you," she said before kissing him gently.

He smiled, "And I love you."

They lay in silence a while longer. Jasper gazed at the moon out the window. It was about half full and waning. A large cloud drifted over it and blocked out its light. He looked back at Alice; she was watching the spot where the moon had been, too.

"What do you remember? From the beginning of this life?" He'd never asked her much about what her life was like before they'd met. He knew how much it bothered her not to remember why she'd awoken in a dark, dirty asylum. If anyone could understand not wanting to remember the past, Jasper could.

"It was dark," she began, "but I could still see everything. I was laying on something hard, like a table, and I remember being very aware of my senses. I remember being very thirsty, too. The doctor was there, Dr. Rankins. I was frightened by him but he explained it all to me. He told me about what he was, about what I'd become. He told me that I didn't have to kill people and said that animals would satiate my thirst, too." Alice was lost in her memories and Jasper didn't interrupt her story.

"Another girl rushed into the room after not too long, but I wasn't afraid of her, even though her eyes were blood red unlike the doctors whose were golden. I could tell that she was like us. He called her Ella; I think she was his… biological daughter. They looked alike; more than just both being vampires, I mean.

"Ella said that 'he' was coming. She looked terrified. Dr. Rankins was upset and told us to go. He led us to a back door and told us to run for our lives.

"We ran for two solid days before stopping. Ella told me that another vampire had tried to kill me and that's why the doctor had changed me. He tired to protect me." Her expression saddened. "We never saw or heard from him again after that. I've always feared that the other vampire killed him… because of me," she added in a whisper.

"I'm sorry, Ali," Jasper smoothed her hair and kissed the top of her head. "He loved you, that's why he saved you."

"I know… I wish I could know what happened to him, though. Or to at least know who the vampire was that tried to kill me."

"What happened to Ella? You weren't with her when we met in Philadelphia."

"No. I'd seen a vision of you, so I left her to search for you. I had considered it before, though. She didn't approve of the vegetarian diet that I'd adopted and I couldn't bring myself to kill the humans. Assuming one person, or vampire rather, had already died because of me was enough. I haven't seen her since I left her in Georgia in 1939."

They were silent again. The moon was shining once more and Alice continued to watch it.

"I think we should make a trip to the Deep South, ma'am," Jasper said, putting on his best Southern drawl. Alice laughed at him but looked puzzled.

"Why not? The painting information said it was done in a place called Bryson Asylum in Mississippi. You said you and Ella traveled to Georgia, and assuming you're right, we may be able to find her, too. If Dr. Rankins was her biological father, she may have kept his last name for legal reasons."

Alice thought it over for a minute before sitting up and beaming at him. "When do we leave?" she asked eagerly.

* * *

_Thanks to all my readers to urging me to continue this story. I was really pleased with this chapter and I hope you all like it, too! Please reveiw and let me know what you think! I have some ideas for the next chapter, too...._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N So it's been forever since I updated- I know. Sorry! :( I guess you might say I've had a serious case of writer's block. I reread_ Twilight _and now_ _I'm good again. Please review and let me know what you think so far- reviews fuel the imagination!_

* * *

"Ghost" Chapter 3

A week after they had visited the art gallery, Jasper and Alice were on their way to Mississippi. They had borrowed Carlisle's car for the approximately 3,000-mile road trip that would only take them about fifteen hours to drive (for anyone else, it would take about two days).

As Jasper was driving, he looked over at Alice. Her expression was calm and he could tell that she was thinking. "I know I've asked you this already, but are you sure that you want to do this?"

"Yes. I have to. I absolutely must know what happened to me." Her eyes never left the road ahead of them.

Jasper could feel tenacity rising up in her, but didn't alter her mood. He could understand why Alice needed to make this trip and he supported her decision. He could also understand that she might not want to know what she would find out. Jasper left her to her thoughts and they continued to drive in silence.

***

Before leaving Forks, Alice had looked up Bryson Asylum and was pleased to find that it was still in operation, thought it had changed its name to Bryson Institute for Mental Health about twenty years prior. She had also visited the Biloxi City Library website and discovered that they kept records from 1950 to present online but that the earlier ones could be found in print at the library. They would visit both of these places in attempt at learning about Alice's former life.

"I don't even know my last name," she said suddenly, her voice was very quiet.

Jasper could feel her emotions shifting; they were becoming doubtful, almost regretful. "Ali, we'll figure it out. It might be difficult but we'll figure it out, I promise."

They were silent a moment longer until Alice asked if she could drive. Jasper didn't argue because he knew it would provide a slight distraction for her. He pulled over and swapped seats with her. Within a moment, the engine of the Mercedes was purring quietly as she accelerated past the 120 mark on the speedometer.

***

They reached Bryson Institute of Mental Health that night at about eight o'clock. It was very quiet and there were few people there. Though the hospital used to be a permanent "home" for its residents, it was now used mainly as a treatment clinic. A pair of stealthily silent vampires would never be noticed.

A window was cracked open on the second floor but no one was in the room. They entered there and descended the staircase just down the hallway where they found the main office. The records in the filing cabinet went back only twenty or so years, but in a closet, they found boxes of more records. The crates were stacked high and were very dusty. It didn't take long to find those from the early 1900s. Alice knew that she had been with Ella for about twenty years and Carlisle had guessed that she was about 18 or 19 years old when she was turned. That meant that she would have been born in 1900 or 1901, though she didn't know how long she had been in the asylum before she was changed. They began looking through the sparse records at the year 1910.

Since they didn't know her last name, they looked at first names only. "Alice?" Jasper asked, "Have you been looking at middle names, too?"

"Not really, but I'm pretty sure that 'Alice' would jump off the page at me if it were there."

"Well… I think I found you." He heard her catch her breath and she was instantly at his side.

_Mary Alice Brandon_ it read. Details included a physical description and she was certain that it was in fact her. She had been nineteen at the time of her entrance into the facility, which was on June 23rd, 1920. Her birthday was April 4th, 1901. There was little else except her father's name, Samuel Brandon, and that she had suffered from "hysteria."

Alice stared blankly at the paper. So she hadn't been there long before she was turned. She quickly folded the paper and tucked t away. "Let's get out of here, Jazz."

***

They had found a hotel and were lying together on the bed before either one of them said much else. When Jasper broke the silence, Alice knew what he was going to say. He'd been debating on how to phrase the question for the last five minutes so she had gotten several glimpses of it before he'd even uttered a word. "Ali? How long did you… wait for me?"

"Well, I had visions of you three or four years before I decided to leave Ella. That was in 1939. You came to Philadelphia in 1949 and, well, you know the rest." She'd had her head resting on his chest and now she was smiling up at him. "I waited in that diner for almost three weeks before you finally came. I really thought you'd never show up!" Now she was grinning. "'I'm sorry ma'am,'" Alice mimicked Jasper's Southern drawl perfectly, though her voice was much higher than his was.

He smiled a little but looked sad, "I'm sorry you had to wait so long. Almost fifteen years..." He sighed.

"I've got you now, though." Alice had rolled onto her stomach and was propped up on her elbows. "Forever," she added, stretching up to kiss him on his nose.

"Mmm, forever," Jasper agreed. He pulled Alice into his arms and embraced her tightly.

"Can we go to the library tomorrow?" Jasper was surprised at her eagerness but agreed. "We haven't really found out much so far. Just my name…" she trailed off.

"Okay, Ali. How about we enjoy some privacy for now, though?" he beamed at his tiny wife expectantly. She knew that the night would pass quickly in his arms.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N Okay, so this chapter isn't quite as entertaining as previous ones- it's strictly required for the progress of the story. It's also a little shorter than other ones but good news is, the next chapter is totally new material, straight from my imagination! Leave me some great reviews and I'll get chapter 5 written and posted quicker! ;)_

"Ghost" Chapter 4 (Disclaimer: All Stephenie's, nothing's mine, well, except for Mrs. Kirkland.)

The next morning, Alice was still lying in Jasper's arms. They had watched the sun rise, but Alice promised that it would cloud over and be pouring rain by nine AM. At eight, she hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom. She was doing some unnecessary "primping" as Jasper liked to call it. He had gotten up, too, and was leaning against the doorframe. "Beautiful," he mumbled under his breath. Alice looked at him through the mirror and smiled. "I'll be ready in a minute."

Once Alice was ready, it was still too sunny to go out so the couple laid down on the bed together again. Jasper had buried his nose in her hair and was taking in her fragrance; Alice was drawing invisible circles on his arm with her fingertip.

"I was thinking," she began "what will we do after we go to the library? I mean, it's sort of a dead end, isn't it?"

"Hum… we'll just have to see. I have a good feeling about this, for some reason." Jasper kissed the top of her head before sitting them both up. "I think it's sufficiently cloudy now. Let's get going."

"Grab the umbrella- it should be raining in about thirteen minutes," Alice promised with a grin.

***

Upon arriving at the Biloxi City Library, Alice and Jasper were greeted by the matronly librarian. She directed them to the record morgue and encouraged them to ask if they needed anything. Before going back to her desk, she offered them a cup of hot tea, which they kindly denied.

The records were organized in cabinets by year and then by last name of the family involved. Alice took the cabinets on the left and Jasper took the ones on the right. They breezed through them quickly, looking for anything pertaining to the Samuel Brandon family. They found a birth certificate for Alice and another for a girl named Cynthia Louise Brandon, presumably Alice's sister.

There were no other families named "Brandon" in Biloxi at the time, but there wasn't much about them anyways. Her father was a merchant and they weren't in the social class that would have been talked about much in the papers. Besides the birth certificates, Jasper found Cynthia's marriage announcement to a man named John Greene. They followed Greene's name to find the announcement of their only child's birth in 1924. Her name was Louise Greene, but there were no other announcements about her that they could find. After exhausting the cabinets for all they could think of, they made a few copies of the papers that they had found then thanked the librarian for her time and headed back to the car.

Alice paused for a moment before dashing back inside. "Be right back!" she called to Jasper over her shoulder.

"Hello again, dear," the librarian greeted her again, "did you forget something?"

"No, I actually have a question, though." Alice's smile was so charming that even Edward would have been impressed.

The woman was elderly, probably in her late seventies and Alice had a suspicion. "Would you happen to know a lady by the name of Louise Greene? That was her maiden name, I'm not sure if she ever married."

"Louise Greene," the librarian repeated in a thoughtful tone, "Why, yes, I think I may." Alice's eyes brightened at the news.

"She's still living then?"

"Yes, my friend Doris plays bridge with a woman by that name, I believe."

"I know this is a little personal-" another charming smile "-but would she be about eighty-five years old? I'm just trying to see if it's the Louise Greene that I'm looking for, you understand."

"Why, yes, probably. Doris is- Well, Doris isn't a spring chicken, herself!" she laughed. "Would you like for me give you Doris's number? I'm sure she'd love to help you out. I'll give her a call and tell her to expect your call. What's your name, dear?"

"Um… Bella Hale. My husband will come, too. His name is Jasper."

"Your husband! My, you're so young! I would have thought he was your brother!"

Alice just smiled kindly back at the woman.

"Well, here's Doris's number. I'll give her a ring so she'll know how you found her. And my name's Virginia Kirkland, by the way. I hope you find whatever you're looking for, dear."

Alice thanked her and went back to give Jasper the news.

Once back at the hotel, Alice pulled out her tiny cell phone and dialed the number to Doris Smith. After the third ring, a small voice answered the phone, "Hello?"


End file.
